Image: Nikolay Kazakov for Volocopter
Groupe ADP & Volocopter, alongside the French Civil Aviation Authority and Paris Region (DGAC), have confirmed at the Paris Air Show that the launch of the first eVTOL aircraft services over Paris Region skies for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is on track.
The French capital will become the first European city – and likely the first city in the world – to offer eVTOL services to the general public as an addition to the existing public transportation system of Paris Region.
Three routes by 2024
The partners announced they will start with three connection routes and two tourist round trip flights with several aircraft. The routes will be between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Le Bourget airports, the Vertiport of Austerlitz barge and Paris Heliport, and Paris Heliport and the airfield of Saint-Cyr-l’École (Versailles).
Operations in Paris will begin from five vertiports and will gradually grow to cover the whole Paris region over the next decade. VoloCity aircraft, which have capacity for one pilot and one passenger, will be flying at heights below 500m and will not be audible from ground level in urban environments.
Vertiport construction will start over the course of the summer 2023 and be in full swing at the end of 2024. Each vertiport will feature passenger terminals, with 1-3 takeoff and landing spots, and integrate the learnings from the Pontoise Airport testbed. More than 1,000 visitors have come to see dozens of flights and other tests that have been executed in Pontoise over the past 18 months.
Growing UAM market
These first routes will bring the greatest insights into the UAM market yet, allowing the public, partners, and stakeholders to familiarize themselves with this new form of mobility.
Beyond bringing passengers to their destinations in cities or offering tourist flights, Volocopter is also collaborating with air rescue operator ADAC Luftrettung to help save lives by deploying eVTOLs in emergency medical services.
The general public will be able to book flights for the summer of 2024. Subscribers to the Volocopter channels will be the first to learn about booking opportunities, which will be revealed in the second half of 2023. Learn more here: https://www.volocopter.com/pas2023/
